Humanoids from the Deep Blu-rayReview

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Beware horny sea monsters.

By R.L. Shaffer

In short, Humanoids from the Deep (also known as Monster overseas) is a film about rabid sea monsters that come ashore, kill dogs, tear men apart and rape women in order to propagate their evil species. If you're not on board with that silly premise, you needn't read any further. This movie won't be to your liking.

OK, now that we've weeded out the naysayers, let's move on.

Humanoids from the Deep is not a great film by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it's pretty stupid. The setup barely makes sense. The characters aren't particularly likable (they usually aren't in films like this) and the finale (not the "shock" ending, but the film's true climax) leaves so many questions unanswered, it's sure to leave a sour taste in your mouth, particularly now, years later, knowing there will never be a sequel that explains a few of the holes.

But, cut through the one-dimensional characters, the tired setup and weak plotting and you've got one truly entertaining monster movie packed with nasty violence and gobs of female nudity. It's exploitation C-grade cinema at it's very best, and the film represents one of Corman's finest efforts in the monster genre.

This, of course, is largely due to the film's surprisingly great effects, from Oscar-winner Chris Walas, who, just a few years later, went on to do films like The Fly I and II and Gremlins (directed by Corman-alum Joe Dante). Just about every aspect of the effects are truly impressive.

Our monster, who spends a shocking amount of time on-screen (during the daytime, no less) is fairly elaborate, decked out in seaweed, green slime and other goo. While it's obvious it's just a man in a suit – the budget seemingly didn't allow for a sleeker creature (like the one in Alien) – the monster is one of Corman's best, a far leap from his previous movie monsters in schlock films like Attack of the Giant Leeches. When this monster is on-screen, it doesn't take much suspension of disbelief to enjoy the mayhem – though a little certainly doesn't hurt.

Even better are the deaths. In one sequence, a young man has his face torn off. He turns to the camera to shock both us, and his unwitting girlfriend. The shock works, not because it's genuinely scary, but because the effect looks so real, it's actually a bit unnerving. Even better are the chest cavity rips seen quite a few times in the film. In one such scene, our villainous sea monster storms a local carnival and tears at the flesh of a sleazy radio jockey. He falls to the ground, his ribs exposed. But before the camera cuts away, we see gushes of blood squirting through the wound.

This is an era before CG would replace real "fake" blood for computer generated blood. What you see is what you get. And here, it's nasty, brutal and shockingly fun to watch – not because it's grimy or sick, but because the men and women who worked on the film clearly love scaring the hell out of their audience. And they go to great lengths to drop our jaws and make us scream and squirm.

It's this sort of attention to detail that makes Humanoids from the Deep an effective monster movie. Sure, it's silly and exploitative, but it's also a hoot to watch, particularly for gorehounds, Corman fans and cult enthusiasts. This isn't a film built for most mainstream audiences – it's simply too audacious, too nasty, and too off-the-wall to be accepted as A-level entertainment. But, in an era where movies like Alien and Halloween were filling theaters with teen fans hungry for more, Humanoids delivers in bloody spades. And years later, in continues to impress.

Score: 7 out of 10

Video and Presentation

Humanoids from the Deep is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a single-layered BD25 disc. I'm always surprised when I read that these Roger Corman classics are shot in 35MM. They simply don't look like it. Rather, they tend to resemble 16MM prints instead. Here, it's no different.

The print is fogged over by soft visuals, little depth and a nasty haze of grain. That said, this is easily the best this film has ever looked on home video. Dust, dirt and scratches are still present throughout. In fact, there's one segment when a split in the film is noticeable for almost a full minute. But, given how grimy, unpolished and genuinely nasty this film has looked in the past; this print is eons sharper and cleaner than ever before. The encode is incredibly sharp, too, with vibrant colors and more texture than I would have imagined. It's nice to see Shout Factory has once again delivered a stunning presentation for a movie most studios would probably have ignored. Keep up the good work.

Score: 8 out of 10

Languages and Audio

Audio choices are English 2.0 PCM Stereo. Annoyingly, like many Shout BD releases, this disc is missing any subtitles or captions. I guess people with hearing impairments, and our Spanish speaking friends, are out of luck. Obviously, this isn't a particularly earth-shattering stereo presentation, but it is free of any high-end crackles, and dialogue/effects are rarely drowned out or distorted. Given the low-budget C-grade nature of this production, anything more than a stereo mix would just sound strange. Still, it would have been great to hear James Horner's surprisingly potent score mastered into the 5.1 sound field.

Score: 8 out of 10

Extras and Packaging

This single-disc BD comes packed in a blue eco case with a reversible slipcover featuring the U.S. artwork and the International artwork. Extras aren't as impressive as previous BD Corman releases, but fans should be pleased with what Shout delivers. Once again, Shout misses the opportunity to provide fans with a Digital Copy of the film, though. The goodies include:

Uncut Version

Deleted Scenes (7 minutes, HD)

The Making of Humanoids from the Deep (23 minutes, HD)

Leonard Maltin Interview w/ Roger Corman (3 minutes, SD)

Trailers, TV Spots and a Radio Spot

First up, for the first time ever, Humanoids from the Deep fans get to see the extended international cut of the film (titled Monster). This version features additional gore (an infamous scene involving some terrific makeup). This cut runs about two minutes longer than previous versions.

Next up we've got a collection of deleted scenes and a making-of retrospective piece featuring interviews with several of the crew involved in the production. The deleted scenes are fairly interesting. While some scenes don't have any audio, seeing these deleted bits (which consist of a few dialogue sequences and two fairly elaborate nude/death scenes) is a rare treat. The making-of featurette dives into the film's effects and more exploitative overtones. Effects master Chris Walas is the highlighted subject here who offers a great amount of insight about the production and its impact.

Topping off the disc we've yet another retro interview with Roger Corman, hosted by Leonard Maltin. There are also trailers, radio and TV spots for the film, and trailers for other New World films. Finally, there's an 8-page booklet loaded with essays.